Tommy Stovall is an independent filmmaker who has produced two feature films and is gaining notoriety in the indie film scene. His current project Sedona has just entered the marketplace to growing fanfare and buzz. But aside from getting his movie made, what makes Tommy’s story interesting is why he passed on a distribution offer from Warner Brothers.
Instead of going the traditional distribution route for Sedona the movie, Tommy embraced DIY distribution.
Earlier this week, I had the chance to ask Tommy to share some tips on indie filmmaking, film finance and how to navigate the new world of self-distribution.
Jason Brubaker
How did you get started in filmmaking?
Tommy Stovall
I started making movies for fun in the 80s when I was in high school. I would shoot on a clunky VHS camcorder and edit between the camcorder and a VCR. I would get my younger brother and a bunch of friends together and we’d make mostly horror movies, more or less parodies of “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween.”
Jason Brubaker
When did you decide to become a professional filmmaker?
Tommy Stovall
During college I discovered I could actually make money doing videos, so I started my own production company where I did weddings, corporate videos and anything else people would pay me to do. I decided to change my major half-way through college and ended up with a degree in Radio-TV-Film.
Jason Brubaker
What did you do before making Sedona?
Tommy Stovall
I made my first film, “Hate Crime” in 2004 and spent a good 3 solid years on the distribution phase of it, with a year of festivals, then doing our own theatrical release and eventually going to DVD.
Jason Brubaker
What was your budget for Sedona?
Tommy Stovall
For Sedona, it was under $1 Million.
Jason Brubaker
What approach did you take for raising the money?
Tommy Stovall
We formed a Limited Partnership and got private investors, which included ourselves – me and my partner Marc Sterling, who was also a producer.
Jason Brubaker
How long did the fundraising take?
Tommy Stovall
We worked on the fundraising for about two years, but didn’t raise anything significant until we were actually scheduled to start production.
Jason Brubaker
What did you discover in the process?
Tommy Stovall
I discovered that people are much more likely to invest when they’re sure the project is happening, when they know there’s a start date and they see cast and crew officially coming together. So we raised most of the money in the few months leading up to production… Most of it right before.
Jason Brubaker
That sounds like you probably had a few sleepless nights.
Tommy Stovall
Obviously, it’s not the best way to do things, but for us it was necessary [Laugh].
Jason Brubaker
What hurdles did you overcome to get the movie made?
Tommy Stovall
Most of the hurdles were just the typical challenges a low budget presents in limiting your time and resources.
Jason Brubaker
Were you able to find any help in the community?
Tommy Stovall
Because this movie is titled “Sedona,” after the town we actually shot it in, we were able to make the project a community effort and get people excited about it. We relied on help and participation from locals who wanted to be a part of it understood the positive benefits the movie could have for everyone here.
Jason Brubaker
Were you able to get resources in exchange for publicity?
Tommy Stovall
Yes. Local businesses were generous in offering us discounted or donated items and services, so we were able to get more bang for the buck in some aspects.
Jason Brubaker
What camera did you use?
Tommy Stovall
The Canon 5D Mark II
Jason Brubaker
What was your initial distribution strategy?
Tommy Stovall
I had been leaning toward a DIY strategy very early on. But we initially tried the traditional route, which now feels like a big waste of time.
Jason Brubaker
Did you screen at any film festivals?
Tommy Stovall
We entered some of the big marquis festivals, which we didn’t get into. We did a lot of smaller festivals, then we got a producer’s rep for six months.
Jason Brubaker
Was your producer’s rep able to get any traction?
Tommy Stovall
Having a producer’s rep didn’t result in anything. But it wasn’t surprising. I learned some hard lessons with my first film in selling rights and giving up control, so this time around I was much less trusting and more leery and careful with everything.
Jason Brubaker
How did this strategy change after the festivals?
Tommy Stovall
We actually got some distribution offers that I turned down. One was from Warner Brothers for our digital rights.
Jason Brubaker
That sounds exciting.
Tommy Stovall
Of course it sounds exciting when you hear the name of a big studio. But you really have to realize what you’d be giving up.
Jason Brubaker
So you decided to pass the deal and go in a different direction? What advice do you have for filmmakers who want to make, market and sell movies?
Tommy Stovall
In a perfect world, filmmakers could make a movie and recoup their money by just turning it over to someone else to market and sell. But that’s just not reality for most of us.
Jason Brubaker
There is something exciting about the prospect of our movies being distributed by Hollywood.
Tommy Stovall
But even if you find distribution, chances are you won’t see much in the way of a return, and you will probably get screwed. This is sad, but true.
Jason Brubaker
Heartbreaking… so many filmmakers sign away their rights, in exchange for the validation of saying, “our movie got picked up!” The problem is, getting picked up doesn’t always pay the bills.
Tommy Stovall
The good news is, it’s a different world now, with countless opportunities to get our films out there on our own, directly to our audience.
Jason Brubaker
Having access to the popular marketplace is liberating. Yet there are a lot of old school distributors who are just looking to grab any movie, throw it against a wall and see what sticks. Where is the value in that?
Tommy Stovall
The fact is, nobody is going to care about, understand, or know how to market your movie better than you. And no distributor is going to work harder than you. Period. The new world of DIY distribution is constantly changing and evolving, so it takes a lot of trial and error and just figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It it not easy, but at the end of the day, you will still be in control regardless of what happens.
Jason Brubaker
Thank you for stopping by Filmmaking Stuff.
Tommy Stovall
Thanks for having me.
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President of Pasidg Productions, Tommy Stovall has a degree in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas and started out in the early 1990’s with his own video production company. His longtime goal of becoming an independent filmmaker began with his first film, the award-winning Hate Crime, released in 2005. His second feature film, called Sedona, has just been released on DVD, Blu-ray and several video-on-demand platforms. For more information, please visit www.SedonaMovie.com.
